{"id":38001,"date":"2015-06-03T11:53:10","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T15:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=38001"},"modified":"2015-06-03T11:53:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T18:50:59","slug":"is-the-nra-losing-the-culture-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/is-the-nra-losing-the-culture-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the NRA Losing the Culture War?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Millennial<\/a>

Millennial infographic (Photo: Richfield.com)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The Huffington Post\u2019s \u201cguy guy\u201d Mike Weisser argued in a recent Op-Ed<\/a> that the NRA is losing the \u201cculture war\u201d with pro-gun control organizations like former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg\u2019s Everytown for Gun Safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that June 2, touted as Gun Violence Awareness Day, may mark a true turning-point in the argument about guns,\u201d wrote Weisser.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pro-gun community can lobby all it wants for laws that make it easier to own or carry guns, but fewer gun restrictions won’t really matter if the country’s dominant culture becomes anti-gun,\u201d he continues. \u201cAnd while the NRA has been promoting gun ownership as their response to the \u2018culture wars,\u2019 the millennial culture that is emerging and will define the country appears to be solidly anti-gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weisser draws this conclusion for three reasons (a) less than half of America owns guns, (b) the industry has failed to penetrate new markets such as women and minorities and (c) to quote him directly, \u201cthe social and political views of millennials are completely at odds with the socio-demographic profile of the gun-owning population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okay, there\u2019s a lot I want to say because Weisser is sort of on to something but is also way off base.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with this question, is the NRA failing to capture a younger audience? I don\u2019t know, I think the jury is still out on this. One thing for sure though is that the NRA is keenly aware of its millennial deficiency and lack of diversity. How do I know this? Well, if it didn\u2019t feel the need to reach out to younger and more diverse demos there would be no NRA Freestyle<\/a>, NRA News Commentators, e.g. Colin Noir, Dom Raso, nor would there programs like \u201cI Am Forever<\/a>\u201d or \u201cLove At First Shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real question is whether these new personalities and programs are gaining traction with millennials, minorities and women? Tough to say.<\/p>\n

To focus on the younger demo, \u201cI Am Forever,\u201d the show that turned high school senior Reagan Tyler into a \u201cshooter athlete\u201d did not post impressive numbers on Youtube. The first episode garnered around 8,400 views. Subsequent episodes garnered considerably fewer, some under 1,000 views. Sure, views are only one way to analyze the success or failure of a show (there are others, comments, engagement in terms of likes and shares on social media), but when one is dumping some major dollars into production costs, talent, filming, etc., which it appears the NRA did in this case, there is no way around acknowledging the obvious: the show was not a hit.<\/p>\n

Other shows like \u201cNoir<\/a>\u201d and \u201cMedia Lab<\/a>\u201d have done better in terms of views, but it be tough to argue that either was a runaway success in its first year. The NRA is bringing back \u201cNoir\u201d for a second season, but I haven\u2019t heard whether \u201cMedia Lab\u201d will return.<\/p>\n

So, to go back to Weisser, he may be correct to assert that the NRA is struggling to win the culture war. However, just because the NRA is having trouble in this department, does that mean the entire gun industry is also struggling to win hearts and minds? No, I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

To stick with the Youtube realm, and to focus on millennial target audience, all one needs to do is to watch Demolition Ranch or IraqVeteran8888 or FPSRussia to see that the younger generation has indeed taken up an interest in firearms (Based upon their respective content, I\u2019m making an assumption that a large percentage of their audience is under 35). IraqVet and Demolition Ranch consistently get traction on their channels, some of their videos eclipse 100,000 views, and FPSRussia has over 5,000,000 subscribers with a total of 662,388,089 views. By comparison, CNN \u2014 the news network \u2014 has 820,233 subscribers with a total of 754,874,496 views.<\/p>\n

If the significance of those numbers are lost on you, don\u2019t worry about it. Just know that there is evidence to suggest that millennial gun owners are out there, they\u2019re just not relying on traditional outlets like the NRA to consume gun-related content.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Besides Youtube, there are other barometers to check the pulse of millennials, minorities and women. The NSSF, the firearms industry trade organization, has done numerous surveys to measure any changes in demographics. A 2013 Analysis of Sport Shooting Participation<\/a> in the U.S. 2008-2012 revealed the following with respect to new shooters:<\/p>\n